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2019-08-22 09:29:09

VWAGY

Volkswagen

$0.00

(0.00%)

, TSLA

Tesla

$220.89

-4.81 (-2.13%)

09:29

08/22/19

08/22

09:29

08/22/19

09:29

Volkswagen seeks to take stake in Tesla, Reuters reports

Herbert Diess, the CEO of Volkswagen (VWAGY) is looking to take a stake in Tesla (TSLA) to access Tesla's software and batteries technology, Reuters' Thomas Seythal reports, citing German business publication Manager Magazin. According to a top Volkswagen manager, Manager Magazin said "Diess would go in right away if he could," though an obstacle would be to get the consent of Volkswagen's controlling families to fund the stake purchase. A source close to Volkswagen says the management board is not currently in talks to acquire a Tesla stake. Reference Link

After test driving and analyzing the Audi e-tron, which marks Volkswagen's (VWAGY) first fully electric small SUV, JMP Securities analyst Joseph Osha said the test drive left him impressed but he also thinks "VW is late to the EV market and it shows." The e-tron is heavy, "slow by EV standards," and Osha said he thinks the weak range and performance are likely to limit sales for this version of the vehicle. Following the e-tron try-out, Osha reiterated his Outperform rating and $369 price target on Tesla shares, adding that he feels his 90,500 unit target for Tesla's Q2 shipments "is secure" based on early data.

06/03/19

RBCM

06/03/19INITIATIONRBCMOutperform

Volkswagen initiated with an Outperform at RBC Capital

RBC Capital analyst Tom Narayan started Volkswagen with an Outperform rating and EUR 202 price target. The analyst rolled out coverage on the European Autos group with a positive bias on car makers and a more cautious view on suppliers. While acknowledging near-term cyclical pressures, Narayan says the market is valuing Daimler, Renault and VW with no terminal value. His positive view on the car makers is supported by his firm's survey work which suggests strong consumer demand for electronic vehicles and a willingness to pay more.

06/27/19

FBCO

06/27/19INITIATIONTarget $189FBCOUnderperform

Credit Suisse starts Tesla at Underperform, sees 'niche automaker'

Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy last night initiated coverage of Tesla (TSLA) with an Underperform rating and $189 price target. The stock closed yesterday down 49c to $219.27. While Tesla currently leads in areas that will likely define the future of car making, the company faces "risks ahead" and is "likely to settle as a niche automaker," Levy tells investors in a research note. Volkswagen's (VWAGY) "strong push" on electric vehicles highlights the competition Tesla faces from larger, better capitalized players, according to the analyst. He believes Tesla lacks the same scale as other automakers and that the company has struggled with the basic "processes" of the auto industry. If Tesla can't maintain "healthy" margins, then its edge in the differentiating aspects of the auto business will be a "moot point," says Levy.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas noted that Ford (F) does not currently sell any battery electric vehicles, or BEVs, but he thinks this is about to change, noting that the company will unveil a Mustang-inspired all-electric BEV later this year and is developing a BEV F-150 truck. He also believes Ford's ongoing strategic partnership discussions with Volkswagen (VWAGY) will give it an opportunity "to close the BEV gap," he tells investors. Jonas, who said a pivot to BEVs could be a risk to Ford's near-term earnings but a longer-term positive for the stock, keeps an Equal Weight rating and $10 price target on Ford shares.

TSLATesla

$220.89

-4.81 (-2.13%)

07/25/19

FBCO

07/25/19NO CHANGETarget $189FBCOUnderperform

Tesla to be challenged to meet delivery guidance, says Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy notes that Tesla posted a Q2 EPS miss. Broadly, while Tesla has maintained its narrative, the analyst expects the stock to be under pressure near-term, as expectations had risen post the Q2 deliveries release earlier this month. Levy reiterates an Underperform rating and $189 price target on the shares as the Q2 results reminded him of the challenges ahead for Tesla in gross margin, especially as it relates to Models S/X. While Tesla has maintained its delivery guidance, he believes the company will be challenged to meet it given challenges to S/X volumes and the phase-out of the U.S. EV tax credit.

07/25/19

ROTH

07/25/19NO CHANGETarget $224ROTHNeutral

Tesla price target lowered to $224 from $238 at Roth Capital

Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin lowered his price target for Tesla to $224 form $238 after the company posted weak Q2 EPS, with automotive margins marking the lowest levels since Q1 of 2018. The analyst reiterates a Neutral rating on the shares.

Following Tesla's Q2 earnings report last week, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas decreased his FY19 delivery estimate by about 2,000 to 345,000 units, lowered his full year auto gross margin forecast to 17.4% from 19.6% and cut his FY19 GAAP EPS estimate to ($8.94) from ($7.06). Jonas, who said his reduced gross margin and deliveries forecasts are offset by a lower CapEx forecast, keeps an Equal Weight rating and $230 price target on Tesla shares.

Bernstein analyst A.M. Sacconaghi, Jr. performed a detailed benchmarking analysis of executive turnover at Tesla (TSLA) and at comparable companies that are young, fast growing, and largely Silicon Valley based, including Snap (SNAP), Uber (UBER), Lyft (LYFT), Airbnb, Netflix (NFLX), Facebook (FB) and Amazon (AMZN). His analysis indicates that Tesla's annualized executive turnover level has been 27%, "notably higher" than the cohort average of 15%. With that said, the analyst notes that it is "not outlandish," with Snap at 24% and Lyft at 23%, which is nearly as high.

Technology & Internet Analyst Seyrafi holds a group luncheon meeting with Scott Gifis, President of AdRoll, a key re-targeting company that is a top buyer on Facebook, Google AdX and a key partner with Twitter, Pinterest, and others, in New York on September 24 at 12 pm hosted by FBN Securities.

Following Apple's (AAPL) Special Event, investors seemed to only care about Apple TV+'s unexpectedly low price, with stocks of streaming rivals like Netflix (NFLX) and Disney (DIS) quickly falling on potential unforeseen risks to competition, Tae Kim writes in this week's edition of Barron's. While the $4.99 a month price for Apple TV+ looks appealing, it may not be so attractive once consumers consider the number of shows the service will offer, the author contends, adding that the small lineup offered actually makes Apple TV+ look pricey compared with the competition. Reference Link

United Airlines stock has been range bound for much of the past year, as investors fretted about its ability to weather the impact of higher oil prices and potentially slowing growth, Ben Levisohn writes in this week's edition of Barron's. But the stock is just too cheap and may get a boost after a short squeeze, the publication notes. Reference Link

Amid talk of a coming recession and expectations that the Federal Reserve is about to lower interest rates again - theoretically crimping financial stocks - it is important to remember that buying stuff that is wildly out of favor, such as Bank of America's stock, is historically a great way to make money, Steven Sears writes in this week's edition of Barron's. Reference Link

Even in a rough year for retail stocks, Tapestry - the holding company that owns Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman - stands out as a flop, with shares down 25% in 2019, Avi Salzman writes in this week's edition of Barron's. The stock's recent weakness, however, opens an opportunity, the author contends, adding that investors should have more confidence in Tapestry's cash flow, which has help up. Reference Link

Amerco (UHAL), owner of U-Haul, is one of the "better-kept secrets" in the stock market as it has virtually no analyst coverage, communicates little with investors, and is run like a private business by controlling Shoen family, Andrew Bary writes in this week's edition of Barron's. Trading at $380, the shares look appealing after having been stuck in a range of $325-$400 for most of the past four years, the author notes. Reference Link

North American railroads like CSX (CSX), Union Pacific (UNP) and Canadian National Railway (CNI) have been Wall Street favorites, but freight volumes are declining amid worries over an economic slowdown and a trade war, price competition from truckers is pressuring rail rates and the railroads last hope for continued profit growth is efficiency gains, Bill Alpert writes in this week's edition of Barron's. However, there are limits to efficiency strategy as evident in Canada, where precision scheduled railroading was pioneered a decade ago on the long-haul runs of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), the author notes. Reference Link

Aimmune Therapeutics announced that the Allergenic Products Advisory Committee, or APAC, convened by the FDA voted to support the use of AR101, proposed trade name Palforzia, in children and teens with peanut allergy. Palforzia is a complex, biologic oral immunotherapy candidate designed to reduce the incidence and severity of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, after accidental exposure to peanut in patients aged 4 through 17 years with a confirmed diagnosis of peanut allergy. The APAC voted 7 to 2 that the efficacy data and 8 to 1 that the safety data, in conjunction with additional safeguards, are adequate to support the use of Palforzia.

AT&T's (T) CNN will stop hosting advertisements from Juul, which is 35% owned by Altria (MO) and other e-cigarette brands following concerns over an illness that has affected users of vaping products, the Daily Beast's Maxwell Tani reports. During a Tuesday town-hall meeting with CNN employees, network head Jeff Zucker said in response to a question about the company's advertising deal with Juul that the network will not allow Juul or other vaping brands to buy ads moving forward, Tani reports, citing several network sources. A CNN spokesperson confirmed to the Daily Beast that it will no longer allow e-cigarette ads, but will leave the door open to reverse course if research shows vaping products are not harmful. Reference Link

Basic Energy Services announced that T.M. "Roe" Patterson, the company's president and CEO and a member of its board, notified the company that he plans to transition away from the company to pursue other business opportunities. The company has begun an executive search for a new CEO. Patterson will continue to serve as president and CEO of Basic, and as a member of the board, while the company conducts a search for his successor, and will remain with Basic in an advisory capacity for a period of time after his replacement is chosen to facilitate an orderly transition. Once his successor is chosen, Patterson will resign from his position on the board as well. Additionally, the company announced that Julio Quintana, a current independent director of the company, will take on the additional role of chairman of the board, effective September 13. Quintana became a member of the board in 2016. Timothy Day, who has served as a member of the board and chairman since 2016, will continue to serve as a director of the company and as chair of the Compensation Committee of the Board.

Philips has been awarded a maximum $400M fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for digital imaging network picture archiving communications system products and maintenance. This was a competitive acquisition with ten offers received. This is the seventh contract competitively awarded under the open solicitation. This is a five-year base contract with one five-year option period. Locations of performance are California and other areas located within and outside the continental U.S., with a September. 12, 2024, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is FY19 through FY24 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency.

Raytheon was awarded a $427.3M contract for procurement of common sensor payload systems, spare parts and engineering and system support services. One bid was were solicited with one bid received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of September 12, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.